Abraaj Group acquires majority stake in Jhimpir power project

DUBAI: The Abraaj Group, a leading investor operating in growth markets announced on Wednesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase a majority stake in Jhimpir Power Limited (JPL) Holdings Pte. Ltd. from Burj Capital, an international renewable power developer.

JPL Holdings Pte. Ltd. wholly-owns a 50 MW wind power project in the Jhimpir wind corridor in Sindh.

The Jhimpir Project achieved financial close in August 2016 and is expected to commence operations in Q1 2018. The Jhimpir wind corridor is an established area for wind projects with 550 MW+ of capacity already operational and a further 1 GW+ under the construction and development phase.

The project will be powered by General Electric (“GE”) wind turbines, with the Huadong Engineering Corporation appointed as the EPC contractor and GE providing the overall operations and maintenance for the project. 

Commenting on the transaction, Sev Vettivetpillai, Managing Partner and Global Head of Abraaj’s Thematic Fund Business, said: “Our investment into the Jhimpir wind corridor marks our second transaction under Abraaj’s dedicated clean energy platform. With a shortage of over 6,000MW and rising power consumption in Pakistan today, we are excited by the sheer size of the clean energy infrastructure opportunity, enabling government policies and the potential of the Jhimpir wind corridor. Having invested across the energy value chain in growth markets, including the power sector in Pakistan, we look forward to growing our renewable footprint and consolidating our presence in the sector.”

Saad Zaman, Partner at The Abraaj Group, added “We are pleased to announce the investment of Abraaj into JPL Holdings and look forward to building on the momentum we have gained from the financial closure achieved on our first wind project in Pakistan. The attractive renewable power policy framework implemented by the government has created a strong impetus for the private sector to invest in clean energy. Leveraging on our combined operational capabilities, project management experience and know-how, we will successfully develop the Jhimpir wind corridor project and enhance power generation in Pakistan.”